News, Views and More on ERHC Energy (OTC BB Symbol ERHE) from American Reporter Editor-in-Chief Joe Shea, an ERHE Investor

Monday, August 14, 2006

Centurion Grabs A Little More Of Block 4

Centurion Energy International, the Canadian junior partner in Block 4 of the Nigeria-Sao Tome Joint Development Zone, has upped its percentage with the purchase of 2 percent of overall equity from Hercules Corp., which was 75-percent-owned by Centurion, to give it 9.5 percent of the promising block.

The equity sold for $4.4 million, according to a press release issued by the company:

Centurion Acquire Additional Exploration Interests in the Sao Tome Joint Development Zone in West Africa

Centurion is pleased to announce the acquisition of an additional 2% working interest in Block 4 in the Sao Tome Joint Development Zone (JDZ). This will increase Centurion's interest in the Block to a total of 9.5%.

In order to acquire the additional interest, Centurion will purchase a 25% equity holding in Hercules Petroleum Limited (Hercules) for a cash consideration of US$4.4 million. Since Centurion already owns 75% of the Hercules equity, this company will therefore become a wholly owned Centurion subsidiary once the transaction is completed.

Block 4 covers an area of 212,000 acres and is located in the heart of the JDZ, with water depths of approximately 1800 to 2200 meters. The JDZ represents a potential deepwater extension of the highly prolific Niger delta hydrocarbon province and to date the region has been under explored due to a historic maritime boundary dispute. Over the last few years, however, the JDZ has been opened for exploration and Chevron have recently announced an oil discovery in the JDZ Block 1, which lies immediately to the north of Block 4 and on the same geologic trends.

A 3D seismic survey has already been acquired on Block 4 and the data is viewed as encouraging since it indicates the presence of several large structures with the potential to hold significant reserves volumes. Consequently, the Block 4 Joint Venture is attempting to secure a deepwater rig to drill the first exploration well on the concession in the second half of 2007. This well would be the first of three commitment wells, which are scheduled to be drilled on the Block during the Phase 1 of the exploration licence.

Centurion is a Calgary-based oil and gas exploration and production company, engaged in oil and natural gas activities in Egypt, Tunisia and the Sao Tome JDZ.

For the purposes of AIM Rule 11, this announcement has been reviewed by Centurion Energy's Vice President - Engineering and Production, Robert C. Macaulay, B.Sc., a Petroleum Engineer of more than 20 years' standing, a member of the SPE and a registered Professional Engineer in the Province of Alberta.

About Me

... My greatest achievement was to win a First Amendment lawsuit (Shea v Reno) against Atty. Gen. Janet Reno over the First Amendment, in which I got a law declared unconstitutional in Manhattan Federal Court and was affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
I've been a reporter almost all my life, and have worked at or published in publications like The Reader's Digest, Esquire, Argosy, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle. I was a 1970 Pulitzer Prize nominee for my stories in the Village Voice, and am an investigative reporter who once got the President's nominee to the SEC withdrawn.
I'm also a native New Yorker who grew up on a farm in a small village that is now an important suburb of New York City. We still live in our pre-Revolutionary War family farmhouse there. I lived in Marietta, Ga., and Norman, Okla., as a kid, and went to the University of Oklahoma, Orange County Community College in Middletown, N.Y., and Antioch College in Columbia, Md.
I lived in Beverly Hills and Hollywood, Calif., for 26 years until moving to Bradenton, Fla., in 2003.